Electric trolling motors are available that are controlled by hand using a tiller, by a foot pedal that is connected to the trolling motor, by wireless foot pedal control, and by hand-held remote control devices. Wireless remote control devices have the advantage of eliminating cables that can otherwise get in the way of an angler, and provide the opportunity for the angler to control operation of the motor even when the angler is in another part of the boat. With systems using wireless remote control, the remote control transmits commands to a receiver that is connected to the motor. In this manner, the angler can control various functions of the trolling motor, such as steering, turning the propeller on or off, and either increasing or decreasing motor speed. A wireless control system for marine devices, such as an electric trolling motor, is described in patent application Ser. No. 11/888,945, filed on Aug. 3, 2007 by the inventor of the present Application, the teachings and disclosure of which are incorporated in their entireties herein by reference thereto.
Many fishing boats are now equipped with an electronic fish finder or chart plotter. Often, these fish finders include a GPS receiver and some level of mapping for the waterways they are navigating. Anglers routinely use their fish finders or chart plotters to mark (record) the locations of productive fishing spots. These spots are also referred to as waypoints. Sometimes instead of marking an individual spot, they will also record a track that follows a shoreline or some sequence of spots. These spots and tracks are used by the angler during return trips to these areas to allow them to quickly bring the boat to the potentially productive fish habitats. U.S. Pat. No. 5,386,368, issued to Knight, describes an apparatus for maintaining a boat in a fixed position, the teachings and disclosure of which are incorporated in their entireties herein by reference thereto. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,213, issued to Carlson, describes a system for controlling navigation of a fishing boat, the teachings and disclosure of which are incorporated in their entireties herein by reference thereto.
Anglers can use a trolling motor control system to steer the boat to a desired waypoint previously recorded by the trolling motor control system, or to electronically steer the boat along a previously recorded path, or track. U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,324, issued to Knight, describes an electronic steering system for controlling the heading of a watercraft, the teachings and disclosure of which are incorporated in their entireties herein by reference thereto. However, with some conventional trolling motor control systems, the system has a limited amount of memory in which to store recorded waypoints and recorded tracks. Further, these conventional trolling motor control systems may not have sufficient memory to store maps of various fishing locations. Moreover, some conventional trolling motor control systems have limited display capabilities and may not be able to optimally display maps or recorded tracks and waypoints.
Embodiments of the invention represent an advancement over the prior art. The advantages of the invention, as well as additional inventive features, will be apparent from the description of the invention provided herein.